Eires stood in the cool, quiet night, her breath steady as she surveyed the small cabin from her concealed position about five kilometers away. The moon hung high in the sky, casting a silver glow over the dense trees that surrounded the isolated structure. For the past two and a half hours, Eires had done nothing but strategize. She wasn’t going in without a plan—not with Jason’s life hanging in the balance.
Locating the cabin had been the hardest part. The map was vague, and the terrain was treacherous. But she had managed to find it, tracing faint magical signatures and following the faintest whisper of energy that led her through the dense forest. Now, standing on the edge of the clearing, she could feel the tension building. The trap was set, and she was walking right into it.